THEY are the key to reforming this country. And they are awesome--both the volunteers and the voters. The organizers know how to organize, for sure. Dean's 50-state strategy is also helping. But you can't organize if you don't have fired up troops and voters. The Obama surge is coming from the grass roots--from the people! I also agree that it doesn't much matter what the policy differences are, or what the candidates say on the campaign trail--as predictors of their actions in office--although I think that Obama's early, public opposition to the Iraq War is extremely important to his SUPPORTERS, who represent the SEVENTY PERCENT of the American people who oppose this war and wanted it ended, and to whom our political establishment has been totally deaf. What will he do? I don't know. He then voted to fund the war, in obedience to the political leadership in Congress. I recall voting for the "peace candidate" in 1964 (my first vote for president)--LBJ--and before the war that he escalated was over, TWO MILLION Southeast Asians were dead, and over 55,000 U.S. soldiers, most of them draftees. Beware of Democrats bearing peace--is my motto.
Also, I happen to be watching things in South America very closely, and don't be surprised if Donald Rumsfeld (yup**) gets Oil War II: South America started before Bush leaves office. In fact, it's looking like we might see Bush Junta-instigated (Rumsfeld orchestrated) serious trouble in South America around election time in November (--a nice Bushite fly trap for a Democratic candidate).
Of course, you shouldn't completely ignore what candidates say. Just don't be daunted, disempowered, demoralized and de-activated, when it turns out that they lied to you, or when the war profiteers and global corporate predators who are running things won't PERMIT them to do what they say they are going to do. And, above all, don't let them keep disenfranchising you--with corporate-run, "trade secret" voting machines, and by other means. We WILL get our country back, no matter what happens in the primaries, in November or afterward. I am convinced of that, and always have been. I just never dreamed that we would see this astonishing level of public participation, evidenced in the primaries and in the Obama campaign, this soon. It is the most important thing that has happened in this country since the antiwar and civil rights movements of the 1960s. It is the key to reforming this country. It is the key to the future.
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**Rumsfeld lays out his strategy in a WaPo op-ed of 12/1/07. First, economic warfare against Venezuela (with Exxon Mobil firing the first shot a few weeks ago--attempting to freeze $12 billion in Venezuela's assets, in a dispute over Venezuela's 60% share in its own oil--a deal that Norway's Statoil, France's Total, British BP and even Chevron has agreed to--Exxon Mobil's purpose being to destabilize Venezuela--a democratic country with elections that put our own to shame for their transparency). These financial hostilities are to be followed by "swift" U.S. action in support of "friends and allies" in South America--which means (translating Rumsfeld) U.S. military intervention, on behalf of either the Bush/U.S. funded fascist thugs in Colombia, who just crossed the border of Venezuela's ally, Ecuador, and killed 17 people whom they claim were FARC supporters, in Ecuador, and have been creating incidents on Venezuela's border for some time; OR, the Bush/U.S.-funded fascist thugs
within Venezuela, Bolivia, and possibly also Ecuador and Argentina, who are planning rightwing coups. (Note: All four countries have lots of oil (big new find in Argentina, recently), and leftist governments, and are allied with each other.) I think this new Rumsfeld oil war has already begun--with the incident yesterday on Ecuador's border, and Exxon Mobil's financial warfare. See
"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by
Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800.html(And you thought Rumsfeld was "retired"!)
(Funny thing about Chavez--he was elected, twice, in highly monitored elections, and also won a U.S.-funded recall election against him, as well as surviving a U.S.-supported rightwing military coup, with the people of Venezuela rallying to his support; he has harmed no one; he has been running a scrupulously lawful government for ten years; he enjoys a 70% approval rating, and close friendships and alliances with most of South America's leaders, and he has done a great deal of good, including not only reducing poverty by 40%, but also stimulating 10% growth in Venezuela's economy, with the most growth in the PRIVATE sector--so it is very difficult to paint him as a "dictator"--because he isn't. It is a total lie--worse even than the lie about Iraq WMDs. Beware of corporate news monopolies bearing lies--that's my other motto.)